Former Mavericks Prospect Signs With Raptors

The third-year player was waived after 56 games with the Mavericks but has found a new home in Toronto

Oct 7, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard A.J. Lawson (9) in action during the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Memphis Grizzlies at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

A former prospect of the Dallas Mavericks has found a new home a quarter of the way into the 2024-25 season. A.J. Lawson, who played 56 games with the Mavs before being waived twice during the preseason, has signed a two-way contract with the Toronto Raptors. Lawson is a Canadian native and was born in Toronto.

Lawson had been playing with the Long Island Nets, the G-League affiliate of the Brooklyn Nets, where he had been averaging 24.0 PPG, 6.6 RPG, and 2.5 APG. He had a career-high 37 points against the Raptors' G-League team earlier in the season, likely leaving an impact on their front office.

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Dallas signed Lawson to a non-guaranteed contract in March after the trades for Daniel Gafford and PJ Washington left them with a roster spot open. The re-signing of Markieff Morris left them with 16 players for 15 roster spots, and they valued Morris' locker room leadership over Lawson's potential, waiving him early in the preseason before being brought back on a two-way contract.

Lawson would be waived again at the end of the preseason, as the Mavs wanted to bring back Jazian Gortman, who was arguably the preseason's biggest star, on a two-way contract.

AJ Lawson is in his third year on an NBA roster after going undrafted out of South Carolina in the 2021 NBA Draft. The Atlanta Hawks originally picked him up, but he first appeared in an NBA game with the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2022. He averaged 3.4 PPG in 56 games in Dallas.

READ MORE: Mavericks Fall Short to Thunder, 118-104, Eliminated From NBA Cup

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